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London - Europe's stock markets rose on Thursday ahead of a deadline for Greece to submit new bailout plans, while a rebound in Chinese shares boosted sentiment.
Frankfurt's DAX 30 gained 0.80% to stand at 10 833.38 points in late morning deals, while the CAC 40 in Paris rallied 1.03% to 4 686.69.
Outside the eurozone, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading companies added 0.60% to 6 529.46 points compared with Wednesday's close.
The Bank of England was widely expected Thursday to keep its main lending rate at 0.50%, where it has stood for more than six years.
"It looks like it will be another day of waiting for the markets, with all eyes on Greece's somewhat shaky ability to produce a proposal," said Connor Campbell, analyst at Spreadex trading group.
Greece is hurtling towards a midnight deadline to propose reforms needed to unlock billions of euros of fresh aid desperately needed to keep its struggling economy afloat and stop it crashing out of the euro.
In foreign exchange dealings, the euro fell to $1.1045 from $1.1077 late in New York on Wednesday.
Asian stock markets rose, reversing heavy morning losses and tracking a surge in Shanghai after China announced new measures to staunch a mainland rout that has fuelled fears about the wider economy.
US stocks had slumped on Wednesday on worries about China and Greece in a session that was overshadowed by a lengthy outage at the New York Stock Exchange owing to technical problems.
Federal Reserve policymakers meanwhile favoured caution at a meeting last month about raising interest rates as they weighed weak spots in the economy and foreign risks, the minutes showed.
"The general theme was one of acknowledging the improvement in the US economy while saying more data is needed to confirm that policy objectives will be met," said Jasper Lawler, analyst at CMC Markets UK.
"The biggest turn up for the books was a direct mention of Greece from the Fed. The committee acknowledged the possibility for disruption in European financial markets and said there could be spillover effects on the US.
"The implication being, that should there be a Greek exit from the eurozone, a rate hike in the US would more than likely be delayed. So while European equities would probably suffer some serious damage following a Grexit, US stocks may fare a bit better on hopes of lower rates for longer," Lawler added.
